Imagine hosting a lavish dinner party: you have an outfit picked out, the venue is set, and anticipation is high. You’re ready to greet your guests when you realize… you haven’t prepared any refreshments, or made a playlist, or invited a single guest!

This scenario, while unthinkable in the social sphere, mirrors the oversight some retail teams make when opening new store locations without first implementing a retail store marketing or CRM platform like Endear.

The excitement of a new store opening is palpable, but diving in without the foundational support of a CRM is akin to setting sail without a compass. Retailers can miss out on crucial customer data and engagement opportunities, and can make it much harder for new staff members to do their best work at both selling and customer outreach. Here’s why adding a CRM into your retail operations from the get-go isn’t just recommended, but is essential for charting a successful journey.

First and foremost, the launch of a new store brings with it a flurry of training activities. Staff are being onboarded, processes are being established, and the brand’s ethos is being instilled in these new hires. This whirlwind of preparation presents the perfect opportunity to incorporate CRM training, too. By integrating Endear onboarding into the mix, your team isn’t just learning store protocol - they’re also mastering the art of how to effectively sell and personalize customer engagement from day one.

And keep in mind, while modern retail CRMs are designed to be easy to use, there’s still a learning curve for retail teams to get the most out of the dozens of clienteling features these platforms come with. By waiting until later to implement a solution, teams are learning new processes twice, wasting valuable time and energy, while also being taken away from their many other responsibilities. It’s better to get them up to speed before the ribbon is cut.

The adage “knowledge is power” rings especially true in the retail sector. From the moment the doors open, each customer interaction, sale, and feedback is a treasure trove of customer data waiting to be unlocked. Implementing a CRM system like Endear before the launch allows you to capture this valuable information from day one, providing a historical record that’s gold for analyzing store performance and customer preferences.

This continuous stream of data that dates back to a store’s grand opening offers insights that enable your brand to adapt, evolve, and grow with precision. For example, when there is buzz around a new store opening, customers are often interested in a small selection of products to start. Without a CRM, how well is the team capturing sell-through, as well as the other items that sold in surprise numbers? With this in-depth knowledge, retailers can tailor their inventory, store layout, and future marketing campaigns to meet the specific needs and preferences of their expected customers, ensuring that when the store continues to resonate with its clientele.

In modern retail, building anticipation and engagement before the doors even open is crucial. With Endear, you can identify and segment local customers, creating targeted email campaigns that spark interest and excitement. These aren’t just any emails: they’re personalized invitations, offering sneak peeks, exclusive offers, and the warm welcome of a community. By laying the groundwork for these relationships before the launch, you’re not just opening a store - you’re cultivating a loyal customer base eager to step through your doors on day one.

And if you’ve been in retail for even a short amount of time, you know how different each store location can operate with its surrounding clientele. That’s why it’s especially important for new stores in new locations to have a CRM up and running before launch, to help you capture customer data faster so you know how to cater to the locals faster. Otherwise, it may take extra months to truly understand what works for each new store – or in the worst case, may even lead to closing an unprofitable location.

The art of clienteling transforms casual browsers into loyal customers, and with Endear, this becomes second-nature from the outset. The CRM’s suite of tools—from personalized email & SMS campaigns to interactive digital lookbooks to a new SalesChat—enables your team to provide a bespoke shopping experience that feels both intimate and intuitive, both online and in-store. This level of personalized engagement is not just about making a sale. It’s about forging connections that last, ensuring that each customer feels valued, understood, and eager to return.

To compete in today’s retail environment, the decision to implement a CRM like Endear before opening new locations is more than strategic—it’s forward-thinking. It recognizes that the heart of retail success lies not in pushing transactions, but in relationships.

It sees beyond the immediate tasks of store setup, embracing the broader vision of brand growth and customer loyalty. So as you roll out the figurative (or perhaps literal) red carpet for a store’s grand opening, remember that the right tools, like Endear, are not just supports for your business—they’re the winds that propel it forward, promising smoother voyages and richer destinations.